Melissa Rycroft
| died= | hometown= Dallas, Texas | knownfor= Reality star | season= Dancing with the Stars 8 Dancing with the Stars 15 | partner= Tony Dovolani | place= 3 (Season 8) 1 (Season 15) | highestscore= 30 (Samba; Season 8) 30 (Quickstep, Paso Doble, Argentine Tango, Samba, Freestyle; Season 15) | lowestscore= 21 (Jive; Season 8) 21.0 (Foxtrot; Season 15) | averagescore= 26.8 (Season 8) 28.0 (Season 15) }} Melissa Katherine Rycroft-Strickland is a celebrity from Season 8 and the winning celebrity from Season 15 of Dancing with the Stars. Early Life Melissa Katherine Rycroft was born 11 March 1983 in Dallas, Texas. She studied dance from an early age and served as first lieutenant of her high school drill team. She majored in Marketing at the University of North Texas and was a member of Alpha Chi Omega. Career Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders After graduating from the University of North Texas, Rycroft auditioned for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. She danced for the team from 2006 through 2008. As a cheerleader, she made regular appearances on Country Music Television's reality show, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. Television Rycroft appeared on the 13th season of The Bachelor as one of the 25 bachelorettes competing for bachelor Jason Mesnick. In the season finale, Mesnick chose Rycroft over runner-up Molly Malaney, and proposed. Shortly after the proposal, Mesnick left Rycroft, explaining he had feelings for Malaney. Mesnick and Malaney married in 2010. Rycroft is a host of CMT's reality-TV show, Redneck Island. Personal Life Rycroft had a seven-year relationship with a boy she met in school. It ended abruptly when he broke off with Rycroft while the pair were in college. The boy married another girl within two weeks of the ending of the relationship. Rycroft said she was inconsolable and this relationship was, in part, the reason she would later describe herself as the girl who was always dumped when she auditioned for The Bachelor. In her book, My Reality, Rycroft described how Tye Strickland constantly broke off their relationship, dated other women, and generally took her for granted. Rycroft was briefly engaged to Jason Mesnick, whom she met on The Bachelor. Mesnick called the engagement off after he admitted he was in love with runner-up, Molly Malaney. Rycroft then returned to a former boyfriend, salesman Tye Strickland. The couple married and have three children: daughter Ava Grace, born 16 February 2011 and sons Beckett Thomas, born 20 April 2014, and Cayson Jack, born 18 May 2016. Dancing with the Stars 8 Rycroft first competed in Season 8 of Dancing with the Stars where she was partnered with Tony Dovolani and finished in third place. Scores Melissa & Tony S8.PNG 87986_melissa-rycroft-and-tony-dovolani-dwts-week-one.jpg Lindy-hop-1.jpg Dancing with the Stars 15 She and Dovolani once again served as partners in the All-Stars season and were announced as the winners on the season finale. She later served as the host of the 2015 Dancing with the Stars: Live! tour. Scores * The additional score of 9.5 was awarded by guest judge Paula Abdul. Melissa-Rycroft-DWTS-15.jpg Melissa & Tony S15.jpg Melissa and Tony S15 1.jpg melissa-tony-freestyle.PNG Melissa-tony-win.jpg Melissa-Rycroft-and-Tony-Dolovoani-Win-DWTS-02-2012-11-27.jpg Melissa-rycroft-300.jpg Melissa+Rycroft+Dancing+Stars+Stops+Good+Morning+tMCkJZ01Dynl.jpg Melissa-tony-front2.jpg Dancing with the Stars 27 Juan Pablo Di Pace and Cheryl Burke selected her to dance a Trio Cha-Cha-Cha with them in Week 4. Dwts 27 week 3 juan cheryl melissa.jpg Trivia * In Season 8 she was a last minute addition to the show after Tony Dovolani's celebrity partner Nancy O'Dell suffered an injury just days before the start of the season. Her first rehearsal happened a little over 48 hours before the season premiere. * In Season 15, her cumulative average was 28.0/30.0, making it the fourth highest season average of any contestant in all fifteen seasons of Dancing with the Stars. * She is part African-American although Amber Riley is considered the first African-American woman to have won the show. Category:Contestants Category:Females Category:Season 8 contestants Category:Season 15 contestants Category:Champions Category:Actors Category:Bachelor Nation